1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multilayer capacitor and a method of adjusting an equivalent series resistance of a multilayer capacitor.
2. Related Background Art
Known as this kind of multilayer capacitor is one comprising a multilayer body in which a plurality of dielectric layers and a plurality of inner electrodes are alternately laminated, and a plurality of terminal electrodes formed on the multilayer body (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2001-185441 and 2004-47983).
Power supplies for central processing units (CPUs) mounted in digital electronic devices have been increasing their load current while lowering their voltage. Therefore, it has become quite difficult to suppress the fluctuation in power supply voltage under a tolerable level in response to a drastic change in load current, whereby a multilayer capacitor known as decoupling capacitor has come into connection with a power supply as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2001-185441. At the time when the load current fluctuates transiently, the multilayer capacitor supplies a current to the CPU, thereby suppressing the fluctuation of the power supply voltage.
In recent years, as the CPUs have further been raising their operating frequencies, the load current has been becoming faster and greater. Therefore, the multilayer capacitor used in the decoupling capacitor is demanded to increase its capacity and equivalent series resistance (ESR). The multilayer capacitor disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-47983 employs a terminal electrode having a multilayer structure including an inner resistance layer, thereby increasing the ESR.